Episode #90 - An Automated Future

Transcription:

Sean Riley:

With all the fancy introductions out of the way, welcome back to the podcast, Donna Ritson.

Donna Ritson:

Hi, Sean. It's always a pleasure to be here and speaking to your listeners out there from PMMI.

Sean Riley:

Yes. The pleasure is all ours.

Sean Riley:

Before we dive into the current trends that are shaping the development and the use of robots in manufacturing, could you give us a quick rundown of what's going on in the overall robotics industry in general?

Donna Ritson:

The market for robots in manufacturing, what we've really seen is steady growth. We did a report in 2019. They've continued to gain capabilities in the last decade. They're opening more doors to new applications.

Donna Ritson:

One of the most important developments we've seen in the robotics industry really has been the expansion into new markets. What's interesting to note is that the IFR has reported that this is the first time that robotics orders for non-automotive business have surpassed the automotive industry. That's a pretty significant trend.

Sean Riley:

Yeah. How about that?

Donna Ritson:

Yeah. It's a big change from previous years, because it really shows us how deeply robots are really penetrating other areas of manufacturing. That certainly applies to our audience here of processing and packaging.

Donna Ritson:

If we take a look at what we learned from the interviews, over half of the people that we talked to, the CPG companies, and that was across beverage and food and personal care and pharma, household products, agriculture, really all the CPG industries that our members service, predict that ... The CPGs are predicting they're going to be spending more on robots and cobots in the next few years. So I think we're going to see this switch of more robotics in industries beyond automotive continuing to grow.

Sean Riley:

Interesting, because we've been hearing about it in dribs and drabs for years, but now, we're pushing over the tipping point, I guess. What is driving this growth with our CPGs?

Donna Ritson:

Well, what we've been hearing, certainly in the last couple of years and with the industry that we've talked about right now, in terms of this particular report, we really explore a number of different factors that are increasing the deployment of robots and cobots across processing and packaging. It really can be explained in two main categories. If we look at this from a need and a capability standpoint ... Let me explain that a little bit further.

Donna Ritson:

Operations have a greater need now than ever to increase their efficiency, their throughput, the accuracy at which they operate. This is at top line dealing also with labor shortages. We know that continues across the industry, across every industry. Robots are really poised perfectly now to provide that solution that can really impact and have a significant change on these challenges that CPGs are facing.

Donna Ritson:

If we really look at robot capability, which is need and capability, the capability has greatly increased in really just the last few years, really allowing robots to be deployed to more tasks across the plant floor. For manufacturing operations, this means more efficiency, more accuracy to accomplish a greater number of tasks.

Donna Ritson:

Simply put, CPG operations have a greater need now than ever before for the advantages that robots and cobots offer. Now, those capabilities are available, able to take on more tasks.

Sean Riley:

Interesting. Okay. So then what are some of the capability advancements that you just talked about that are driving robot growth? What is it that's making them better suited for roles outside of automation, outside of large scale things, where we can use them more intimately in processing and packaging operations?

Donna Ritson:

Absolutely, Sean, the advancement in robots has really been significant. Mainly, they continue to get smarter. AI-supported robots, they're far more adaptable. It allows them to perform many more tasks in the manufacturing space.

Donna Ritson:

I'll give you a couple examples. Robots are visually inspecting products at a high rate of speed and accuracy. They're able to pick multiple items and pack multiple cases simultaneously. They're even able to pick and make the decision of what size carton they might use.

Donna Ritson:

The true challenge that we found out and continue to hear, and it's not anything new, but the true challenge for CPG manufacturers has really been finding the best applications where this efficiency and accuracy can best be used, particularly with the growing capabilities that robots and cobots offer manufacturing now.

Sean Riley:

Okay. With something you just said, I wanted to touch on that a little bit more. You've mentioned labor shortages. We've been talking about that in almost every podcast we do here. The workforce, it is a crisis at this point that they're dealing with. It's affecting the entire manufacturing industry. How are these shortages then impacting the robotics decisions?

Donna Ritson:

You're absolutely right, Sean. We have chatted about this in many podcasts, and it's certainly written everywhere in the news, that labor shortages are affecting all manufacturing. Let's look at this from two different standpoints, from purchasing and operational.

Donna Ritson:

From a purchasing standpoint, the robot orders really have benefited manufacturers who are struggling to fill positions and even retain employees. An interesting statistic that really shows this problem growing. There's going to be two million jobs that are unfilled expected by 2030. That doesn't seem so far away.

Sean Riley:

No.

Donna Ritson:

When we think about it, how fast time goes, it's sooner than we think.

Donna Ritson:

But the need for that labor at manufacturers, it's immediate and acute. Robots can help alleviate this burden by taking on more tasks, filling those positions that are hard to find, and freeing up the employees that they have to be utilized elsewhere in their organization.

Donna Ritson:

From an operational standpoint, the lack of labor, it's really causing a greater strain on manufacturers. When it comes to identifying and deploying and operating robot based solutions, they don't necessarily have the skill set and the depth of experience. So as they struggle to find employees with this adequate knowledge and skill base, there really is a key area where manufacturers, they're turning to suppliers for help.

Sean Riley:

That one is catching me a little bit. When you say manufacturers are turning to the suppliers for help with robotics, are we just talking training to use them? What specifically are they seeking help with?

Donna Ritson:

Well, what we found in the report, and what the report shows, Sean, is that CPGs, they're looking for help really just about everywhere. Obviously, every CPG manufacturer, they have their own unique needs, depending on what they're manufacturing.

Donna Ritson:

But we heard that the CPGs are continuously looking to their suppliers to help them identify robot applications. Where can we put this where it's going to be most efficient? And to help them develop a comprehensive plan, a business case that helps them justify the deployment. And help them manage the installation and the integration and the training, as you mentioned, and even the remote monitoring of the robotics maintenance needs.

Donna Ritson:

One of the most important findings that we did learn from this report is [inaudible 00:09:28] manufacturers are really looking for that close partnership. They want suppliers that will be proactive in educating them, as we just mentioned, helping them integrate installations, and helping them actually identify where and how they should be used most efficiently to really achieve their production goals.

Sean Riley:

Did they identify any other things, hurdles that are keeping them from adopting robots, beyond a lack of robotics expertise?

Donna Ritson:

Absolutely. Definitely. There are some obstacles. We report it very succinctly in the report. Some of the obstacles they're looking to overcome.

Donna Ritson:

Obviously, one of the ones we know is the biggest hurdle is the slump in the supply chain. OEMs are also even reporting difficulty in finding source materials and components, and the different parts that they need, which really gets translated into extended lead times for the actual finished machines, as well as getting that machine integrated into an operation. So wait times for finished robots, it's many months longer than it used to be.

Donna Ritson:

Another key challenge is to overcome the cost. CPG manufacturers, we just heard over half of them are spending more on robotics right now, but they need justification for that project and how that project is going to impact their business.

Donna Ritson:

So the CPGs are really looking for comprehensive cost evaluations, including TCO, total cost of ownership, and ROI. So manufacturers and the OEMs that can help these CPG manufacturers build this business case are really the types of suppliers that the CPGs are looking for.

Sean Riley:

Yeah, in my personal opinion, that's the thing that I've heard has been the hardest part is getting the C-suite upstairs to get on board with recognizing the ROI on incorporating robotics and automation, because sometimes the upfront cost can be so expensive.

Sean Riley:

But I guess in your opinion, beyond that, with all this information you've given us, is there something that you feel is the most important message that readers should take away from this report?

Donna Ritson:

Well, I think the biggest message that we've heard year over year is that robot and cobot usage continues to grow. Certainly robot continues to grow. Cobots are finding their niche along the manufacturing line. The report gets into significant detail about both of the adoption across the entire line, in processing, in packaging, in secondary packaging and transport packaging. It gives really good detail of exactly where these robots and cobots are being deployed.

Donna Ritson:

But what we've really learned is that the CPG manufacturers, they're looking for suppliers who can provide turnkey services, help them identify these applications, help them monitor the maintenance that's needed, as I mentioned earlier about that. They're looking for suppliers who really will work with them to educate their employees, and train them, and be there for them on a consistent basis, to really help them get to a successful implementation and operation of a robot or a cobot that's really helping them eliminate labor.

Donna Ritson:

So they really want a partner who, bottom line, they're going to take the time to understand their operations, help them stay informed, and really give them realistic expectations of where they could find robotic efficiency.

Donna Ritson:

I guess, as a bottom line, they can really say CPG manufacturers, they want suppliers. They want partnerships beyond just suppliers. They really want to form strong relationships that are going to really help understand their unique needs and bring a greater level of success to their operations.

Sean Riley:

I feel, again, that collaboration piece is something that we've heard a lot of, particularly since the beginning of the pandemic, as something that's going to be crucial, because everyone had to work together during the times when things were shut down and there were lockdowns.

Sean Riley:

There's so much more, though, that we can learn about how, when and where these robots are being used in the manufacturing and packaging space. To do that, get the full report from the PMMI Business Intelligence Committee, Robotics And Cobots An Automated Future. That can easily be downloaded at pmmi.org/research.

Sean Riley:

I want to thank you again, Donna, for taking time out of the day to come on here with us.

Donna Ritson:

Sean, it's been a pleasure. I hope your listeners gain some great insight, both on the supplier side and the manufacturing side. It's really a tremendous report.